Month: October 2014

So Jim Murphy’s celebrating his win as most despised politician in Scotland by throwing his hat in the ring, hoping to be elected to the country’s finest poisoned chalice – the ‘leader’ of the ‘Scottish’ labour party. And he really is the best choice for the job. If any one politician can unite the whole […]

The death of Alvin Stardust is like another bent nail in the coffin of my youth. He might not be remembered for much, but when I was growing big-boy hair, he was a glam rock Gene Vincent, a Leo Sayer who looked like he could fight. In other news, vast, morbid crowds of keyboard hooligans […]

Visiting Ipswich, I’m struck by the difference in poverty between here and Scotland. The burg itself is about the size of Kirkcaldy, the architecture reminiscent of Chatham in Kent. Long curved streets made of Victorian-era terraced houses leading to the central explosion of consumerama. I spotted an HMV and a Maplin, neither of which exist […]

With the referendum and all, I’ve been writing a lot about politics for what seems like most of the last six months, so as a wee palate cleanser, here’s where the writing’s been going. This week, I’m working my way through the final polish of the Roger McRoger autobiography I’m working on. This should be […]